Adaptation

One of the problems with riding any of the new Triumph motorbikes is that aftermarket parts are quite expensive, as compared to those parts made for other brands of bikes.  And, many parts aren't even available on the aftermarket, making it technically impossible to upgrade without custom fabrication.

Earlier, I briefly described installing XR-60 Honda replacement foot pegs on the Scrambler, since I can't seem to get PivotPegz to ship the set I bought from them.  (I am awaiting resolution of my dispute on PayPal to see if I can get my money back.)  The pegs work fine, but I spent about 3 hours with a Dremel, a bench grinder and various files in order to get them mounted.  I had to remove a spine of metal from the inside of the mount on the motorbike, as well as shape the pegs to pivot inside that mount.  I also had to grind down the length of the bushings on which the pegs pivot, replace the pivot pin with a nut and bolt, and cut a notch for the spring to seat in, so that I could pre-load it and get the pegs to snap back into place if they get pushed back.

I would much rather have just installed some pegs which were actually designed for the Scrambler.

Another piece that I wanted to replace was the shifter lever.  I had snapped the toe peg off of it on the ill-fated rocky ride, last month, and I had repaired it.  But, I wanted to have a pivoting shifter, like all the dirt bikes come with, to avoid breaking it again.  However, as far as I know, no one makes such a shifter lever for the Scrambler.

This morning, I rode the bike down to Performance Motorcycle, and parked in their lot.  There, I removed the shift lever and took it inside the store with me.  I went to the racks of replacement pivoting dirt bike shifters, and started comparing the shifters with mine.  I was looking for something which was reasonably close in shape and length.  After about five minutes (one of which was wasted in having to explain to a 17-year-old salesman that I realized I wasn't in the "road bike" section and that I did know what I was doing, thank you), I had what I needed.

It is an alloy MSR-brand replacement lever for the Honda CR-80 (or the CR-85).  It bolted right on, clears everything, and is actually easier to hit with my toe, from the peg, than was the stock version.

The stock lever went into the "removed stock parts" box.

So, this is how the bike sits, now, with new brake and clutch levers, shifter and pegs (plus Tourance tires, in place of the knobblies):

I will take it in for the 6000-mile warranty check, in two weeks (I made an appointment, this morning), and get the fuel injection remapped to optimize the K&N air filter /D&D exhaust cans combination.  Then, the next week, I am going to make a banzai-style run to the Bonneville Salt Flats for the last day of Speed Week, then back home, as a 3-day round trip.  We'll ride out on Thursday, go to the salt on Friday, and ride home on Saturday for a total of about 1400 to 1500 miles by the time we are done.

It's been a pretty fun summer, so far, on the motorbike.  It has almost made up for the lack of bicycling...

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